Toyota S-FR Concept (a future Sport 1500 or even a Scion!?)
- Thread starter The Vanishing Boy
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- Valongo
- Hcclipper
Can't say I am saddened by these news, as long as the car has a manual gearbox the key point of the car has been put across well enough.
And it seems that the S-FR Concept's design being eerily close to production status was not a downright coincindence; the car is practically ready for production, bar a few minor changes. The only real gripe I have, as most people do here, is with the car's "gaping mouth fish face" front end. I don't know, but personally I'd say that such an area could've received a better treatment design-wise; something along the lines of the Aygo's "X face" or just something which did not flat out imply that Toyota just opened an oval-shaped hole in the front fascia, added a bar going through the middle and called it a day. Then again, I'll hold my judgement until I see how the production version appears and showcases the design in the metal.
Bar that, I like the concept, I like the news of a 6-speed manual transmission, and I like the notion that Toyota is finally waking up to the idea that they need something which is both fun, small and affordable within their (so far small) sports car range. While Nissan is working from the high-end of perfomance car galore to the bottom, with cars such as the GT-R, Toyota is doing the exact opposite. And I do not hate that, not a single bit; if the S-FR can impress people with fun driving and an affordable cost of ownership, the fish face will become a minor concern...
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- 9,232
- Valongo
- Hcclipper
In essence, if tuning companies get their hands on this car, I'd say that their ideas would not stray far away from the same ideas which have been implemented in ND MX-5s. Custom-made exterior parts to change/fix the factory design (in the S-FR, I'll bet that most companies will go immediately for refurbished front grilles), lower suspensions and engine touch-ups to draw a little more power from each car's engines. Then it's mostly those unique touches that each company adds to their respective cars.
It does raise an interesting question; will Toyota create sportier versions of the S-FR themselves? Mazda has infamously denied any and all possible chances of the MX-5 having factory-made hot versions, but Toyota could allow the TRD department to create a more powerful version by themselves... A supercharged version of the car would be a curious idea to implement, something along the lines of a FR MR-2, whether it might be done by Toyota or any other tuning company.
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Please no! Can't stand the X face.
There probably is room for improvement with the existing grill, easy fix for the tuners. Though I really quite like the grill as is. Reminds me of an angry Nissan Figaro.
- 9,232
- Valongo
- Hcclipper
Please no! Can't stand the X face.
There probably is room for improvement with the existing grill, easy fix for the tuners. Though I really quite like the grill as is. Reminds me of an angry Nissan Figaro.
Fair enough, after all design is a very subjective notion, so everyone will have their own interpretation as to how they would replace the fish face. Not dissagreeing with you in any way, Nes, you have a vaild point.
It's just the fact that even the Sports 800 (this car's supposed predecessor) did not have such an obviously predominant front grille for its size;
Sure enough, tuners will find a way of changing the front's design as they see fit...
- 9,232
- Valongo
- Hcclipper
Bar the headlights issue, I'd say it would be doable to match the 800's grille in some description; just a simple chrome bit across the front would make it more lively-looking and slightly less awkward rather than the black bar which can be seen in one of the latest images.
And yes, the 800 is still a cool car. Simple yet fun, it is indeed a close brother of the S-FR in many aspects... 👍
- 4,229
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That's what I like about the grill as is. It's kind of like a blank canvas. Add lights, strips of chrome, off-set number plates etc etc, whatever takes your fancy.
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- 51,222
- Australia
- SpacedustDaddy
Fair enough, after all design is a very subjective notion, so everyone will have their own interpretation as to how they would replace the fish face. Not dissagreeing with you in any way, Nes, you have a vaild point.
It's just the fact that even the Sports 800 (this car's supposed predecessor) did not have such an obviously predominant front grille for its size;
Sure enough, tuners will find a way of changing the front's design as they see fit...
Instant cult status
- 9,232
- Valongo
- Hcclipper
Perhaps Toyota did that on purpose? Knowing the Japanese car makers, they like to give tuners blank canvas in form of just about anything, ranging from simple details to entire designs... But yes, you pretty much got the gist of it, I can't really add much more than what you already said. Again, it's either a detail which may hark back to older designs, a random idea, or just something created to comply with laws, that front grille...
Instant cult status
Damm, that's one mean and lean 800... Where (or who) did that come from?
- 51,222
- Australia
- SpacedustDaddy
this is an MX-5 with a retro front clip.
- 9,232
- Valongo
- Hcclipper
- 9,232
- Valongo
- Hcclipper
Do not forget the possibilities within engine choices; some may turbocharge them, other may opt for a supercharger setup. And if people are brave enough, perhaps even the 2.0 Boxer unit from the GT86 may be engine swapped into the S-FRs engine bay. Who knows what will happen once the tuning community gets their hands on this car... Toyota may have another gold mine in the books if they know how to prepare it.
CodeRedR51
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Let's just hope it's this small, and hopefully cheap enough to compete with it too (that's if it does go into production).
CodeRedR51
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- NewAesthetic
- SlipZtrEm
So the Z won't be paired with the new Q60? I figured, with a 3.0L turbo V6, it was a shoe-in for a return of the 300ZX.
Eh, about the potential production S-FR, if Toyota really does go the manual-only route, I expect it to sell very poorly. Which, maybe they'd have accounted for, but it seems like this would be a unique platform, so why wouldn't they want to get their money's worth?
Eh, about the potential production S-FR, if Toyota really does go the manual-only route, I expect it to sell very poorly. Which, maybe they'd have accounted for, but it seems like this would be a unique platform, so why wouldn't they want to get their money's worth?
CodeRedR51
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Seems kind of heavy for what it is. I would have thought in the neighborhood of 1900lbs. It doesn't look like something that would be sold in the US.
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- disinfected
- disinfected
Definitely strikes me as a Japan only thing, where Toyota sells more different models than you can count. Just seems like another one for the list.
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Not far off as light as the current Miata, but has a metal roof. More or less the sort of weight I'd have expected of a car like this, really.
The styling is really growing on me though. As @Nessy said, the car - and the grille in particular - is a bit of a blank canvas. I suspect once there's a license plate somewhere in there, it'll make the grille look smaller. All the current Lexus models actually look better with a license plate than they do without.
On the blank canvas thing, this appeared on JNC the other day:
I like it. Though honestly, I like the luminous yellow of the concept too. I hope that if this really does get built, Toyota has the courage to offer it in some bright colours.
The specs of this car are pretty much exactly what I'd want from a vehicle. While I like that my MX-5 is a convertible, honestly it's not something you can use much in the UK, so a coupe is closer to my ideal spec. It's light, it's seems like it'll have just enough power to have fun with, and they've seemingly kept it simple.
